Saturday, March 18, 2006

The "Root" Cause Of Terrorism

"My problem isn't just that I am poor, or that Saddam's government killed my second uncle. My problem, I'm sorry to say in front of the two ladies, but I want the Judge to know everything about me. I was never a "homo" or gay, but I have a problem. I can't get married because my penis is small-sized.”

One Week to go Ladies & Gentlemen (UK)

I'll be there. If anyone wants to join me, drop me an email! I've already made some witty signs, but I want everyone who is able to turn up for this march, I'm even going to drink moderately the day before! You don't have to have a banner or sign, just be there! Please make a donation, large or small, to the cause.

“Fixing Islam”—an achievable objective, or a fool’s errand?

In this recent post here at Infidel Bloggers Alliance, a debate came up in the comments between a former Muslim (an apostate) and a self-proclaimed “Liberal Muslim” who is choosing to stay in Islam so he can “fix it.”

“Fixing Islam”—now that remark got me thinking. This, of course, refers to reforming the religion of Islam. Given this religion’s traditional nature, is fixing Islam even a feasible endeavor? Let’s examine that question in some detail.

Islam was founded by the alleged self-proclaimed prophet Mohammed in the seventh century, Muslim claims of “everyone since Adam has been a Muslim” notwithstanding. Without Mohammad, Allah, the Koran, and Islam would be unknown. Islam has never existed, and cannot exist, without invoking the example of Mohammed’s life, his actions, and his words. He is the religion's sole prophet, Islam’s solitary example, Allah’s lone conduit. Mohammed has been hailed by 14 centuries of Islam as the perfect soul, the model of behavior that every Muslim must strive to emulate.

So what did Mohammed spend his one life on earth doing? According to authentically Islamic sources, here is what Mohammed did in his lifetime:

He had political opponents murdered

He murdered prisoners of war, sometimes after the most brutal of torture

He seized the women and children of his victims, using them for sexual favors, taking them as wives and concubines, selling them into slavery for profit, or sometimes all of the above

He agreed to peace treaties with his enemies (“hudnas”), and then broke the agreements as soon as such action was to his advantage

He and his followers stole anything and everything they could get their hands on, in order to finance their movement and obscenely enrich themselves

He and his followers had repeated sexual intercourse with children

This foregoing list is but scratching the surface. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” goes the Biblical parable. Judging Mohammed by his actions, he was plainly no prophet—rather, he was a pirate, terrorist, pedophile, thief, liar, and murderer.

How can any honorable, decent movement or religion ever be based on or draw its inspiration from such a man? Any house built on such rotten foundations will itself be rotten, and be beyond fixing. Trying to fix such a structure would be a colossal waste of time and effort. Ask anyone in construction, or any engineer, and they can tell you—if the foundations of a building are unsound, the only solution is to start over from scratch.

Throughout fourteen centuries, despite endless attempts to do so, no one has ever come close to succeeding in ‘repairing’ the Mohammedan faith. Why should we expect any future attempts to succeed? In fact, all such ‘Islamic reform movements’, like the Wahabis of Saudi Barbaria, have only managed to extend Islam’s inherent depravity.

So here’s how I see it. Trying to ‘fix Islam’, considering the indisputable actions of its founder, is like trying to build a respectable political party based on Hitler’s crackpot racial theories. It simply can’t be done!

Sometimes You Just Gotta Love Your Enemies

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Running the Palestinian Authority will not deflect Hamas from its overriding goal of pursuing a long-term struggle with Israel, the leader-in-exile of the militant Islamist movement said in Damascus. "Being in power is only a means to an end for Hamas," Khaled Meshaal told a memorial gathering for a deceased Palestinian politician on Thursday night. "Power is not our ultimate goal.

"If it becomes one, let power go to hell. It will not hold us back from our targets which we hold dear," he said.

Like I always say, you gotta love your enemies, when they tell the truth.

"THE FREEDOM MANIFESTO" - STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

I am reposting this to remind everyone how important it is that we make clear to the world our position regarding our freedom and liberty.

If not for ourselves, then for our children and grandchildren. We MUST show a strength that says to the islamofascists that we will not to be denied!

The WW2 generation did it for us and now it is our turn to show the world our mental toughness and determination. Please sign up today.

The original authors of the "The Freedom Manifesto" have shown their courage. They had to know that this action would result in a bounty on their heads. As it has. I also signed the petition here and am proud to be a part of supporting their courageous efforts. Until we all have bounties on our heads and are willing to take the risks associated with fighting for freedom will we have the required unity to truely win this war.

The pro-freedom demonstrations are now starting in the west and the US colleges are finally beginning to examine the cartoon controversy.

We all have lived privileged and fairly safe lives. What will the world look like in 5 - 10 - 20 years when the younger generations take our place?

Will we regret our inactions as Neville Chamberlain did?

If not now, when?

The Freedom Manifesto petition is aiming for 100,000 signatures and are averaging about 100 new signatures per day. Again, please sign up today.

Two Must-See Videos

The first is of Walid Shoebat and two other Palestinian men being interviewed. All three are former terrorists who converted to Christianity, and are now telling the world the true story of Palestinian culture.

By the way, ladies, you have two reasons to watch this video. One is for the information, and two is for Ibrahim Abdullah.

Dude has serious star quality.

The second video shows how Arabs are portrayed in Hollywood movies. You'll be surprised, and many of you may think, "Well, maybe Hollywood isn't so bad after all."

For my part, I think I wouldn't want to be part of a group of people who are potrayed in such a manner.

It's a sad situation.

By the way, if anyone can tell me how to post videos the way this guy does it would be much appreciated.

Oh happy day! I always wanted a fatwa, but being banned in Pakistan....why THAT IS JUST TOO COOL! My off-the-cuff DrawMohammedWeek has no-shit-Shirlock been banned by the Pakistan government.

What are we at Gates of Vienna, chopped liver?

We’re card-carrying Islamophobes. We’re professional denigrators of the Prophet. We post original Mohammed-insulting cartoons. We’re charter members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, for crying out loud!

Why didn’t we make the list?

Say… that list looks like it was typed on an old Selectric typewriter, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe this is Mary Mapes and the Texas Air National Guard all over again! Fake but accurate! And this time Dymphna and I are victims of the cruel fraud!

Or maybe not…

I’ve got a better idea: a chain fatwa.

Every time a blogger receives the list, he issues a fatwa against the blog on the top of the list. Then he crosses it off, adds his own blog’s name to the bottom, and sends the list off to ten other infidel bloggers.

By the time the Twelfth Imam returns, we’ll all be up to our clavicles in fatwas! Won’t that be cool?

Now I have to think of ten other bloggers who are ripe for the scimitar...

Danes Just Makes Fun of Muslims!

The Danish Attorney General, Henning Fode, has rejected the reporting of Jyllands-Posten being discriminating in the Mohammed cartoon case. The best part was the female spokesman of a Palestinian group in Denmark's response. I recall it as "We were told to take the matter to court, but now, it isn't even going to the court but is rejected right away" (I think it was in the news at DR I saw this). Oh, yeah, the Danes are having so much fun making muslims look like idiots......in her opinion :)

Now the case probably would go to the FN court of human rights. An advocate for a muslim organization says that the decision from Henning Fode is neglecting many things. Like interrogation of the suspects (editor-in-chief) and include FN's convention of racism. Man, that advocate really have no contact with reality. First, Jyllands-Postens editor-in-chief has many, many times explained why Jyllands-Posten bringed the cartoons. Second, I'm not sure but aren't the Danish law about racism pretty adequate to the FN convention?

A FN rapporteur (in modern racism) says the mohammed case is the most serious matter of hate of Islam and of rendering defamations commonplace since 2001; "Denmark isn't following their international obligations when rejecting to take a position in the mohammed case and not meet ambassadors from muslim countries."

Amazing how many people who are so hypocritical. The FN rapporteur probably have nothing against newspapers making satire of christian values, and I'm pretty sure that there has been several such satire drawings since 2001. At least, there has been several cases of what christians say is defamation of christian values (Two I remember: 1. The sandals with the Virgin Mary printed sold in a big danish supermarket, Bilka 2. Currently running case about a t-shirt grom Gorilla with the Virgin Mary printed (in a titillating form) and the inscription "Mary was only a virgin if you don't count anal").

I guess the decision really hurts the muslim feelings, that the law isn't ignored in this case so Jyllands-Posten can be punished. The muslims most really feel that they are getting extremely discriminated in the xenophobic Denmark (that strangily has one of the worlds highest financial support per citizen to developing and poor countries).

Friday, March 17, 2006

Muslim Babe Of The Month

Infidel Bloggers Alliance has a tradition of posting an "Infidel Babe of the Week." To be fair, to grant equal time, and to honor multiculturalism with all of its infinite social worth, we have decided to post a "Muslim Babe of the Month."

The Future Prospects of the Muslim World: In 1888

In 1888, Harvard Professor Toy gave a lecture on what he perceived the Future of the Muslim world to be. Before I set forth the article, which, I think, is a cause of great despair and sadness if you are Muslim and should immediately prompt a lot of self-reflection, I would like to point out that this Professor Toy was no simple dogmatist. His very interesting biography reveals that he broke away from the seminary where he was studying and became a Unitarian, and also founded the Semitic Studies Program at Harvard — so clearly he was open minded and thoughtful. Note: that in his time the Ottoman Empire still existed. So Islam and Turkey are conflated in his lecture. I think it would be really unfair to cry “Orientalist” and ignore the basic thrust of his speech, which is that: Muslims have to get their own house in order. He also makes clear that Muslims have a leadership crisis. Here it be, Professor Toy on Wednesday 28, 1888:

Takfir ahead for US Muslims...??

TALLINN, Estonia, March 16 (UPI) -- "American" Islam, a religion whose followers resemble "a Weberian society of atomized individuals given over to consumerism," is increasingly posing a challenge in Russia to "true Islam," a faith based on the norms of Sharia law and authentic Muslim ideas, according to a Muslim commentator in Moscow.

In an essay posted on the Islam.ru Internet portal Wednesday, Fatima Anastasiya Yezhova, an ethnic Russian convert to Islam, provides a detailed discussion of the differences between these two Islams and why the "American" one has been gaining ground among Russia's Muslims.

Those who 'have the word' cannot tolerate reason and using one's mind to find 'the way'

Takfir ahead for US Muslims...??

TALLINN, Estonia, March 16 (UPI) -- "American" Islam, a religion whose followers resemble "a Weberian society of atomized individuals given over to consumerism," is increasingly posing a challenge in Russia to "true Islam," a faith based on the norms of Sharia law and authentic Muslim ideas, according to a Muslim commentator in Moscow.

In an essay posted on the Islam.ru Internet portal Wednesday, Fatima Anastasiya Yezhova, an ethnic Russian convert to Islam, provides a detailed discussion of the differences between these two Islams and why the "American" one has been gaining ground among Russia's Muslims.

Those who 'have the word' cannot tolerate reason and using one's mind to find 'the way'

Former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar said Tuesday that Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told him five years ago that “setting Israel on fire” was the first order of business on the Iranian agenda.

Aznar, in Israel as the guest of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, related the story to Major General (Res.) Professor Yitzhak Ben-Israel, who later confirmed to Haaretz that the remarks had been made. Aznar’s aides refused to give Haaretz the exact quote, but mentioned an article Aznar has written in the past on his meeting with Khamenei.

“He received me politely,” Aznar wrote, “and at the beginning of the meeting he explained to me why Iran must declare war on Israel and the United States until they are completely destroyed. I made only one request of him: that he tell me the time of the planned attack.”

Imagine you are a world leader, the PM of a major Eurpean country, and your staff ushers another world leader into your office, for a sitdown and some diplomacy. Sure, you might expect some tough talk, some tense negotiations on trade, or human rights. But would you ever expect to hear this?

It's like bringing Sonny Corleone in to meet the frickin' Dalai Lama.

I know we can't expect a man like Aznar to be anything other than diplomatic in the face of such behavior from Khameini, but I'll bet you even he wished that just for once he could get up and kick the shit out of this guy.

Pajamas Media Doesn't Just Report History, It Helps To Make It

Back in mid-February Pajamas Media went to Washington to cover the Intelligence Summit and did video interviews with Congressman Hoekstra (chair of the House Intell Committee), former DCI Woolsey and Richard Perle, among others. In all those interviews we discussed our idea - new to all of them - that the myriad untranslated Saddam tapes and documents be released to the blogosphere for translation.

The three men all, to one degree or another, liked the idea, although they were surprised by it. Today, it was announced that at the instigation of Hoekstra these documents have been released by the Pentagon for ... and this is how it was worded on the Brit Hume Show on Fox News ... for translation by the blogosphere.

In the Name of God the MercifulPresidency of the RepublicIntelligence ApparatusTo the respectful Mr. M.A.MSubject: InformationOur source in Afghanistan No 11002 (for information about him see attachment1) provided us with information that that Afghani Consul Ahmad Dahestani (for information about him see attachment2) told him the following:1. That Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan are in contact with Iraq and it that previously a group from Taliban and Osama Bin Laden group visited Iraq.2. That America has proof that the government of Iraq and Osama Bin Laden group have shown cooperation to hit target within America.3. That in case it is proven the involvement of Osama Bin Laden group and the Taliban in these destructive operations it is possible that American will conduct strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan.4. That the Afghani Consul heard about the subject of Iraq relation with Osama Bin Laden group during his stay in Iran.5. In light of this we suggest to write to the Commission of the above information.Please view… Yours…With regardsSignature:……,Initials :A.M.M, 15/9/2001Foot note:Immediately send to the Chairman of CommissionSignature:………….

There's more there and more to come.

I BELIEVE THE RELEASE OF THESE DOCUMENTS WAS CAREFULLY TIMED. THEY ARE BEING RELEASED NOW AS PART OF THE EFFORT TO PREPARE US FOR A MAJOR ASSAULT ON IRAN.JUST WATCH.

Final Solution to American Reliance on Foreign Oil and the Muslim Problem

Dear Friends,

I have been giving the matter of our dependence on foreign oil a great deal of thought. Certainly our reliance on the believer’s pools of oil has weakened our national security. In addition, there is no greater threat to our existence than the Muslim. As such, we need a solution that deals with both of these problems in one imaginative act of creative thinking. May I be the one deemed lucky enough, astute enough, to have happened upon the "Final Solution" to these two corollary problems.

Fjordman has awakened

Infidel Babe Of The Week

Aria Giovanni.

If someone even tried to wrap this babe up in a burqa, nature itself would rebel. There would be earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. Dogs and cats would run wild in the street. Mere anarchy would be loosed upon the Earth.

Hell, even liberals would be upset.

Hint to all guys; Google the hell out of her name. You ain't gonna believe your eyes. She's the modern pinup chick, in a league with Marily Monroe, or Betty Page, or that little hottie from the Avengers.

OhMyDumbJihad, We Hardly Knew Ye

London, Mar. 16 – The United States warned Iran through a secret channel that it would launch military attacks on a number of nuclear sites in Iran if there was no diplomatic progress a month after the Islamic Republic’s referral to the United Nations Security Council, according to a Persian-language website run by associates of the former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami.Khatami was quoted by the website Rooz Online as telling allies that he had received a message through a third party from a senior United States official during a visit to Germany last autumn. The U.S. official had warned Iran that the U.S. would bomb the country’s nuclear sites “if there is no breakthrough in resolving Iran’s nuclear dossier a month after the case is referred to the Security Council”.Khatami said that he conveyed the message to the country’s senior officials and the Supreme National Security Council, but “not much attention has been paid to it”, Rooz reported.The International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the Security Council at the end of the last meeting of its Board of Governors on March 8. The council can impose sanctions on Iran for violating its international obligations and concealing critical parts of its extensive nuclear program.Iran’s top negotiator, Ali Larijani, reiterated on Thursday the theocratic regime’s rejection of Western demands that Tehran stop trying to produce fuel that can be used in nuclear power stations or, if highly enriched, in bombs. The United States said diplomacy must succeed to avert a confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

I remember when good ole Mahmoud used to go around threatening people and spouting off about the evil Jews. He was so earnest in his fervor. He was so cute in his naiivete.

It's really just too bad he couldn't figure it out in time. He had a lot of promise. He never got to prove himself. It's a tale of wasted potential.

Now, let us sing a song to his memory. This is an old Persian folk song. You all will recognize it. So, raise your glass and once you hear a few bars, join in with me.

Here goes:

With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo,hurrooWith your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo,hurrooWith your drums and guns and guns and drums,The enemy nearly slew ye

Oh my darling dear,Ye look so queerMahmoud I hardly knew ye.

Where are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo, hurrooWhere are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo, hurrooWhere are your eyes that were so mild,When my heart you so beguiledWhy did ye run from me and the childOh Mahmoud, I hardly knew ye

Thursday, March 16, 2006

The Phrase of the Day

The Bosnian War. A Jihad In Europe? - Part 2

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović, The Mujahideen and The Al Qaeda Connection

The following list of articles, videos and pictures shows Mujahideen (Mudzahedin) and Al-Qaeda presence in Bosnia during the early 90's, in the run up to, during and after the Bosnian Jihad against the Serbs. The documents, videos and pictures also show the connection and detail the control of command that the Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic had over the Mujahideen and Al-Qaeda fighters. Also documented is the Jihadist nature of the Bosnian armies and the fact that not only did the Bosnian president approve of this, but was the one who helped establish this supremacist Islamic ideology in the Bosnian Muslim people. (I have noted in brackets in cases where the pictures are linked to videos. I have tried to keep some order to the information below, but with so much information to post, this became difficult, so apologies for some of the random order)

A photo of the mujahedeen unit in the Bosnian Muslim Army on parade in downtown Zenica in 1995. They are wearing green head bands that read in Arabic: "Our way is the Jihad."

This picture appeared in the London Times on December 11, 1995. The caption reads: "One of the Bosnian Army's Muslim brigades marches through Zenica in a demonstration of strength by 10,000 soldiers." Note that according to the Times these 10,000 troops constituted only *one* of "the Bosnian Army's Muslim brigades..."

[this is a video although it will not open in media player. Right click and save the file (target), then open in a player such as VLC] Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović Makes A Speech To The Mujahideen. The huge army responds with "Allahu Akbar"

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, left, taking a proud photo with a member of Mujahideen (possibly Al Qaeda Member).

"... The first and foremost of such conclusions is surely the one on the incompatibility of Islam and non-Islamic systems. There can be no peace or coexistence between the "Islamic faith" and non- Islamic societies and political institutions. ... Islam clearly excludes the right and possibility of activity of any strange ideology on its own turf. Therefore, there is no question of any laicistic principles, and the state should be an expression and should support the moral concepts of the religion. ..." page 22 "The Islamic Declaration" book ("Islamska deklaracija"), written by Mr. Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnian Muslim leader. (edit-Bosnian Muslim "President")[..]In preparing the ground for the conflicts between Bosnian Cristians (Croats and Serbs) and Bosnian Muslims, residents of different Arab countries who in the B&H had recognized the elements and challenge of “a holy war” - jihad. Coming from different Arab countries, most of them were from Yemen, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Afghanistan, and bringing with them experience from a war from some of the Islamic trouble spots...It was reported that the Mujahedin began arriving in BiH as early as June 1992. (Tom Post & Joel Brand, «Help from the Holy Warriors», Newsweek, 5 October 1992, at 52).[Link]

Picture of an ID Bosnian Muslims issued to an Al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Zumair. Thousands of al-Qaeda got these IDs as well as passports.

Ossama bin Laden’s right hand man and top lieutenant, Saudi Abu Sulaiman al-Makki, was part of the first mujahedeen force to arrive in Bosnia. These were mujahedeen recruited, financed, and organized by Ossama bin Laden. Al-Makki joined Barbaros in the first attack by about 43 Saudi Arabian mujahedeen in central Bosnia against Bosnian Serb forces. This is the engagement where the Saudi Arabian mujahedeen decapitated three Bosnian Serb troops near Teslic and held their heads as war trophies. A prominent member of this mujahedeen contingent that attacked Bosnian Serb forces, Abu Asim al-Makki, later was the major planner of the October, 2000 attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 US sailors.[Link]

The commander of the El Mujahed Battalion was Abu Abdel Aziz “Barbaros,” described as a “senior Al-Qaeda recruiter” in a report presented before the National Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the 9/11 Commission)...He was an early member of the Al-Qaeda movement established by Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam.After war broke out in Yugoslavia, Aziz was made the amir, or military commander of the Saudi Arabian and Afghani mujahedin in Bosnia. Aziz established his headquarters at the Mehurici camp outside of Travnik in central Bosnia.[..]German reporter Renate Flottau of Der Spiegel reported that she personally saw and spoke to Osama bin Laden in 1994, when he allegedly visited Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo. Bin Laden had been issued a Bosnian passport by the Bosnian Embassy in Vienna in 1993. One of the suicide hijackers in the 9/11 attacks also had a Bosnian passport. Moreover, four to six Bosnian citizens, Algerian Muslim mujahedin who were granted Bosnian citizenship by the Bosnian Muslim government were later arrested by US forces and sent to the Guantanamo Bay prison where they were questioned on their connections to Al-Qaeda.[Link]

...far more interesting news item concerning bin Laden, the one that has been either overlooked or else deliberately ignored by the mainstream media. It concerns the testimony of my old acquaintance, British journalist Eve-Ann Prentice, who appeared as a defense witness at Slobodan Milosevic’s trial at The Hague on February 3. Presiding judge Patrick Robinson abruptly stopped her testimony the moment she disclosed having seen Osama bin Laden walk into the office of late Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in November 1994. Before she could continue Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice objected and judge Robinson cut off the testimony, declaring it “irrelevant.”[..]...Sorces close to the Milosevic defense team have posted an unofficial summary of her testimony, which says she was cut off after testifying that, “[w]hile she was waiting in Izetbegovic’s foyer both she, and a journalist from Der Speigel, saw Osama bin Laden being escorted into Izetbegovic’s office.” This account has not been contradicted by the ICTY or by Ms. Prentice herself.[Link]

The United States has long been alarmed by the presence in Bosnia of hundreds of Arab-born Muslim fundamentalists who first traveled there in the 1990s to fight for the nation’s substantial Muslim population during the civil war. Many went there at the direction of Osama bin Laden, who apparently saw the opportunity for a Jihad defending Muslims against Serb and Croat Christians.Osama Bin Laden directly aided the Bosnian Muslims, both financially (weapons procurement) and with training. In addition, that same “aid” was extended to the separatist Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia. Ironically, the US found Bin Laden and his supporters “convenient” allies when dealing with Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians, again in another so-called struggle for “freedom ”.[..]Abu el Ma’ali (Abdelkader Mokhtari), a senior representative of Al-Qaida, was based in Bosnia until recently. Just a few years ago, a US official called him a junior Osama Bin Laden. He had to leave Sarajevo after several embassies complained to the Bosnian authorities. Incidentally, he was issued an apartment by none other than Bakir Izetbegovic, son of Alija, who ran the Sarajevo Canton Construction Bureau [government agency supervising all construction and development – tr.][Link] (note:there is a lot more relevant information this link, too much for a short post)

Therefore, it is safe to say that the birth of al-Qaeda as a force on the world stage can be traced directly back to 1992, when the Bosnian Muslim government of Alija Izetbegovic issued a passport in the Vienna embassy to Osama bin Laden. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2001 that "for the past 10 years, the most senior leaders of al Qaeda have visited the Balkans, including bin Laden himself on three occasions between 1994 and 1996...Many recruits to the Balkan wars came originally from Chechnya, a jihad in which Al Qaeda has also played a part."[Link]

The Bosnian government received money, arms and a number of volunteers from a number of Muslim countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya. The latter caused particular controversy: foreign fighters, styling themselves "mujahiddin," turned up in Bosnia...The German magazine Der Spiegel claimed that Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda guerrillas visited Bosnia in 1993 and met Izetbegović when he inspected a unit of Islamic volunteer fighters. [Link]

About 80 people in central Bosnia are manning road blocks around a village where evictions from illegally occupied properties were reported to be imminent.The villages are largely occupied by Mujahideen, ex-soldiers from Islamic countries, who came over to fight for the Muslim dominated Bosnian army during the war.Many of them have settled in villages around the municipality of Maglai, and are now living illegally in Serb-owned houses.Most live illegally in houses vacated by local Serbs fleeing fighting which swept through the area during the war from 1992 to 1995.[Link]

Brzezinski's interview has tremendous importance today. According to a Dutch intelligence report on Bosnia, in the early 1990s Pentagon intelligence worked with the Saudis and Iranians to bring weapons and mujahideen terrorists - the 'Afghan Arabs' - into Bosnia to indoctrinate and lead Alija Izetbegovic's Muslim extremists in fighting the Bosnian Serbs.[Link]

a highly classified State Department report, prepared last year, warned that the Muslim-controlled portions of Bosnia have become a safe haven for Islamic terrorism. The report pointed out that hundreds of foreign mujahideen, who became Bosnian citizens and received passports after battling their Christian foes, present a major terrorist threat to Europe and the United States. They include hard-core terrorists, some with ties to Osama bin Laden, who were protected by the Muslim government in Sarajevo.[Link]

Also in Turkey there has been another attack against a Catholic Priest, this time a friar. The attack has not been even named in the Turkish press that has published the "reason" of the attack: the attacker was accusing the church of prostituting boys with girls. The scheme is similar to the treatment the Turkish press gave the death of Father Santoro.

Prostitution, the Islamic way

Next time you hear some holier-than-thou Muslim lecturing to the inferior Kafirs of Dar al Harb on the supposed superior morality of the Islamic lifestyle, ask them about so-called "pleasure marriages" that are officially sanctioned by Islam.

The 1400 year-old practice of muta'a - "ecstasy" in Arabic - is as old as Islam itself. It was permitted by the[ed: alleged]prophet Mohammed as a way to ensure a respectable means of income for widowed women (and of course pleasure for men). Pleasure marriages were outlawed under Saddam Hussein but have begun to flourish again.

The contracts lasting anywhere from one hour to 10 years, generally stipulate that the man will pay the women in exchange for sexual intimacy. Now some Iraqi clerics and women's rights activists are complaining that the contracts have been less a mechanism for taking care of widows than an outlet for male sexual desires.

No Internal Muslim Critique, My Left Nutsack

Theirs is not the Iran of bearded ayatollahs and thuggish militias, but a country that has educated itself to the point where it finds the Islamist fundamentalists antiquated and laughable, where adult literacy (and computer literacy) is higher than in many European states, and where 70% of the population is under 30 and keen to usher in a new Iran. As one blogger (safsari.persianblog.com/) wrote:

"There are those such as Abtahi [Iranian Parliamentary ex-Vice President Mohammad-Ali Abtahi] who have called our virtual community too political and have put that we should use weblogs for their intended use... that is to say, for clichï¿½d daily diaries... So what if we use our blogs in ways not intended for or defined during the distant conception of this media...At a time when our society is deprived of its rightful free means of communication, and our newspapers are being closed down one by one - with writers and journalist in the corners of our jails... the only realm that can safeguard and shoulder the responsibility of free speech is the weblogs..."

Seeds of Submission to Islam

Author Edward Cline says it so well that I need not write another word. He covers the silly notion that other cultures are untouchable and must be respected. Where does this come from? What happens if we acquiesce? In what direction are we headed? Read the way Cline expresses the problem and our failure to meet that threat head on.

What Media Bias?

The War on the War, the guiding example type

Among the many lessons learned around us, is the rather hard one that in fact the political 'great game' of history is proceeding as if Hiroshima. and tens of thousands of nuclear weapons has changed nothing.

In deciding that the security of the USA (which in a solipsoid mode my family) is best served by democracy and individual rights worldwide, this otherwise SEEMINGLY idealistic march to the unachievable has revealed how alone we are in thinking what is 'right'.

It's not just Jefferson against Mohammed's brain tumor, revelation, or whatever you what to think, it appears more and more that the dialectic created by a western left which believes property and private rights evil (rather than the genetic force of freedom they are), and capitalism the satan of social justice, has managed to inject this anti survival virus into those who really DO mean us harm, and those whose nationalistic 'pride' or dhimmitudinal fear, or financial, social, and military envy has blinded them to the final results.

To whit, the article in the Asia Times which points out that our efforts to replace the human rights council whose chair nations have been Syria (HAMA, 1982 - 20,000 murdered, weeks after Sabra and Shattila which killed 10% of that), Libya (one of the most insipid and execrable lunar guided dictatorships yet) , and the rest of the sad parade of third world hideous losers with an entity of objective value which CAN guard human rights, have not only been pushed aside, but rejected 170-4. (USA, Palau, Marshall Islands, Israel ?? WTF?)

The United States' diplomatic approach to human rights is, in its own way, every bit as partisan and partial as some of the notorious human-rights offenders who have conspired to emasculate the Human Rights Commission over the years.

That pretty well sums up the conclusion that we are no different from 'Syria' , 'Iran' or 'Libya', and have no moral standing, since we had a group of 4-5 criminals make a pyramid of naked iraqi gentlemen, one, some or all of whom may have been Qutb brained ginstu wielding salafi zarqoids.

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of the UN and what it has become?

170-4? Tells me that these nations want to continue with what is, rather than create HUMAN RIGHTS, without which of course desire for real democracy is a farce.

Frankly this means that it is only a matter of time until an overwhelming wave of american isolationism, and withdrawal sets in. Can' you FEEL it today? Not just because of this.

Worst of all, the United States, whose values (Jefferson, Hamilton, Franklin, Madison, Adams) continue to be rejected for third world totalitarian jokes, western democracies seeking to 'compromise' with other value sets, and be seen as 'reasonable', religiously superior theocratic dictatorships, and dialectic which NO ONE REALLY BELIEVES, in order to ensure that the real danger that governments, should the USA be even MARGINALLY successful, would have to REPORT to, be RESPONSIBLE to, and SERVE the people they just want to govern undisturbed, would pull back, and in time of perceived danger execute the 20 minute solution via Trident.

Who knows, perhaps that is just exactly what the right path is.There will be economic disaster, bloodshed (other places), and radioactive ashes carried huge distances, but it just looks like too many rats in the cage folks.

Pim's Infidel HUNK of the Week

Oh man, that chest, the deep brooding eyes, the appealing scholarly demeanor ( at least in his roles). Hard for a girl to resist. Any ladies agree, or shall we pick another? For now my vote is definitely for Jeff Goldblum!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Ahmadinejad: Those Westerners Want Us To Let Israel Live

Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has figured out the secret reason why the West is so opposed to Iran’s nuclear ambitions: because they don’t want him to nuke Israel. Iran’s Ahmadinejad: West opposes our nukes to let Israel live on. “Our enemies on the one hand oppose our nation’s acquisition of nuclear energy and on the other hand want to divert the attention of other nations from the key issue of Palestine to give an opportunity to the Zionist regime to prolong its existence”, he said. “One of the main reasons why the big powers oppose Iran on the nuclear issue is for the sake of the Zionist regime, so as to let this regime live on. But they are unaware that not only will the Iranian nation continue in the path of obtaining nuclear energy till the end, it will not even for one instant divert its attention from the issue of Palestine”. “The regime occupying Qods [Israel] is the key to [Western] countries’ domination in Muslim lands, and with every blow at this occupying regime, it’s the pillars of the Global Arrogance (the West) that are targeted”.

So, this is rock solid confirmation that Iran intends to nuke Israel. There really is no question anymore. The Iranian regime must be destroyed.

From Skokie to CAIR...the end of the ACLU

In 1978 a jewish ACLU lawyer defending offensive speech won the right for the nazis to exercise free speech and march in Skokie IL, a city in which 1 of 6 inhabitants was either a holocaust survivor or a an immediate family member of one.

At the time I was appalled, but as a member explained to me, by protecting the most hideous offensive speech among us, we protect all speech. I AGREE.

That makes this completely incomprehensible:

CAIR Chairman Elected to Board of ACLU-Florida

CAIR Chairman Elected to Board of ACLU-Florida

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/8/06) - CAIR National Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed has been elected to the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU-Florida). SEE: http://www.aclufl.org/

“American Muslims view the protection of civil liberties as one of the most important issues facing our nation today,” said Ahmed. “By working with the ACLU in Florida, I hope to strengthen constitutional rights and help balance those rights with legitimate national security concerns.” Ahmed is a resident of Jacksonville, Fla.

The ACLU of Florida, with headquarters in Miami, is the local affiliate of the national organization. It has 16 staff members, 16 chapters and more than 22,000 members and supporters across Florida.

CAIR and the ACLU have cooperated on a number of issues at the national level to defend the civil liberties of All Americans

While not denying the RIGHT of anyone to serve on this board, having heard with my own ears CAIR spokmen call for limiting freedom of speech, I find this action ......"blasphemous".

Now, I know Roger Baldwin was a socialist-communist, and I know that the ACLU are by nature going to be unpopular for defending horrific people and causes, but.....CAIR? Thsoe who have called for freedom of speech to be limited for religion?

Denmark is xenophobic! (according to 60 minutes and Die Zeits)

Little Green Footballs brings a post about the CBS program 60 minutes reportage about Denmark. I did want to write about it as many Danish newspapers seams to be very offended by that program (though they are against the Danish government too). I've just been too lazy to get it out, so I just rip this off from LGF now:

WASHINGTON - The picture of Denmark presented by CBS and its 60 Minutes magazine on American TV as a country of aggrandizing, arrogant bigots, blond models and happy-go-lucky fools out of tune and touch with the real world has nothing in common with the country I call home. Moreover, it is home for immigrants from all over the world of all faiths and cultures who have found happiness and a safe haven for themselves and their families taking full advantage of what Denmark has to offer. They are doing much better than one would think after having watched Bob Simon’s story The State of Denmark on 60 Minutes.

This kind of journalism does not have much in common with the tradition of Ed R. Murrow or what his associate, Fred Friendly, taught me at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University when I took my degree there in the late 70ies. The snide asides and sarcasm that permeated the narrative do not mix with the high quality journalism I have learned to expect from 60 Minutes. What we got was a presentation so biased, distorted and corrupted by so many inaccuracies and innuendos that it was impossible to recognize Denmark. I am sorry to say it, but it is shameful for the profession that both Bob Simon and I belong to.

That's written by a well-known Danish journalist Samuel Rachlin (who also are jewish, family from former USSR). Also, Die Zeits, a german weekly magazine, recently published an article about Denmark's xenophobic tendencies. Amazing. Guess Denmark feels a little tiny bit of how it's to be Israel. Or jewish.

A Reply to Pastorius on Shariah

Let me give that some thought ...

Man, Pastorius,

This is a *huge* topic. I'll run off some thoughts that came to my head as I read this, obviously everyone is free to disagree. At some point I'll write a little primer on Shariah; when I have more time. For now, thoughts. Caution, I was just listening to Tool, so I might be a little jagged.

1 - Islam has no clergy. As such, there has *never* been any agreement over *anything.* Muslims can't even agree on whether there is one savior at the end of time named Mahdi; or two, one whom is Jesus and the other Mahdi; or none, in which case all those who do believe in one or two saviors are wrong.

2 - Shariah just means "the way." It's like "the force." lol. But what constitutes 'the way' is very different amongst Muslims. So the operative question becomes: how do DERIVE 'the way.' Everyone pretty much agrees that you have to use the Quran. After that, there is no agreement. A majority of scholars have agreed that after the Quran, you use hadith, the consensus of the scholars, and analogical reasoning. This is the 'method' that the four major schools that your blogger mentions tend to use. *But* note: this is not the only method of *deriving* the Shariah. The 'school' I follow (which is none of the aforementioned four or five), doesn't believe that the hadith are a legitimate source of the Shariah. We say: Quran and Sunnah. Sunnah being those practices (not beliefs) of Muhammad which satisfy a certain criteria. But you know where the real problem is? It's in the fact that there *cannot* be any agreement on what the Quran is saying either. Epamindoas said somewhere that because the Quran is immutable it cannot be changed. That's just wrong. I can believe that the Quran is immutable, and my reading of it can be incredibly different than any other Muslim scholar's. In fact, Ali, the Fourth Caliph, made precisely that point when the huge civil war broke out. He said, look, the Quran is divine, but we are not, and we're its interpreters, so we'll end up differing. So anyway, as it stands today, there is a competition (as there has been always) as to which interpretation of the way, and therefore, their method of derivation, will win.

Really? But then, why ...?

3 - Now what's significant is that Jihadis, Bin Ladin and Zarqawi, also use 'the way' to reach their conclusions. Yet, you can use 'the way' to reach the opposite conclusions. In my humble opinion, the reason that they are able to manipulate the Shariah into a killing machine is because of the *method* they follow. In their method of derivation, the hadith always come in and not only that, but the hadith can *even* abrogate or nullify the Quran. Remember my point in my "Noble Quran" post as to why my dad was pissed? He was pissed b/c non-divine sources (the hadith) were being used to trump the Quran. That *should* be unacceptable. Let me give you an example as to how hadith fuck shit up. In the Quran there is no stoning to death. There *is* a punishment for sex out of wedlock, but it's not stoning. Yet, everyone, including a large number of Muslims, think that stoning IS part of the Shariah. WHY? Well, because there is one hadith that says that there is stoning for adultery. This was sufficient for most scholars and they said, "well, look, since the hadith explains the Quran" (a claim without substantiation), "it means that the God wants there to be stoning for adultery." It's pretty sick, to be frank, how it happened. But in the barebones, here is what happened.

4 - At a certain point in the development of Shariah, two schools formed. The People of the Opinion, and the People of the Tradition. The People of the Opinion said that if you can't solve a problem strictly by using the Quran, then you use your best common sense judgment. The People of the Tradition said, no, you don't use your judgment, you must, instead, go into the history/tradition of Muslims before you, specifically the Prophet and his companions, and see what they would do. The People of the Opinion said: that's bullshit because those who came before us did not deal with the problems we are dealing with. A lot of People of the Tradition, then, started inventing 'traditions' to suit their agenda. Then, the worse thing happened. The rationalist school (the Mu'tazila), which was the intellectual underpinning (the think-tank) for the People of the Opinion, got pulled into a Caliph named Mamun's inquisition, and a lot of People of the Tradition were murdered and killed in the name of rationalism. As such, the general mass of Muslims

Postmodernist Sharia?

gravitated towards the People of the Tradition, and suddenly started buying their argument. There emerged the 'Ashari school of philosophy (as their think-tank), which said that revelation always trumps reason, and thus came to an end the time of the People of the Opinion. The four schools of law we have right now (five if you include the Shia') *are all based in the methodology of the People of the Tradition!* Remember: there were some amongst the People of the Tradition who invented hadith, or took hadith into the Shariaheven though they were spurious. There is nothing in the Quran that talks about homosexuals. But there are plenty of hadith out there.

Ok, I think this is enough for now. This is a total hatchet-job of an explanation b/c I'm writing it on the fly. Academics would nag at certain generalizations I've made. Plus I *have* put my views here, and as such, you can accuse me of bias. Finally, I should point out that my problem with Islam lies in the fact that a majority of Muslims have been sold a defective Shariah without the possibility of real alternatives. Muslims need a Shariah rooted in the way of the People of the Opinion/Mu'tazila School. It is now making a comeback. But it's going to be a hell of a fight. In other words, while I concede that the explanation of the Shariah you set forth in your post (quoting the other blogger) is the majority view; I think that it is deeply flawed and in need of excision. Unfortunately, the 'Ashari/Traditionalist position has been in 'power' for 1000 years. Fact for optimism: our side is smarter. Uh, but their side has guns.

One of the nation's fastest-rising poetry prodigies is a 7-year-old New York girl whose poisonous demagogic advocacy of black separatism makes Al Sharpton look like Mr. Rogers.

Autum Ashante' of Mount Vernon, N.Y., has performed at HBO's Def Poetry Jam, The Cotton Club in L.A., The Apollo Theater in Harlem, the African Street Festival, Caroline's on Broadway, the Russell Simmons Phat Farm Fashion Show, Steve Harvey's "Big Time," a prestigious Grammy Foundation event, and at universities and other venues across the country. She recites her verses not only in English, but also in fluent Swahiili and Arabic (she attended the Islamic Darul Arkam School in Mount Vernon).

Autum has appeared at a tribute to black nationalist Marcus Garvey, America-bashing 9/11 conspiracy-monger Amiri Baraka's annual family cookout, and the extremist New Black Panther Party's Million Youth March. The city of New York honored her with a proclamation for inspiring "her peers, as well as adults, while also demonstrating the power of a father's love, the importance of education and the limitless boundaries of the human mind." New York City councilwoman Yvette Clark called her "one of the most precious young talents that this world has ever known."

Most recently, as New York Post education reporter David Andreatta reported this weekend, she was invited to perform at public middle and high schools in Peekskill, N.Y., for Black History Month.

Here, in full, is what precious little Autum — groomed by her single father, Ashante, a Nation of Islam poet/activist — spewed:

White Nationalism Put U In BondageWhite nationalism is what put you in bondagePirate and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and DarwinDrank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them withSteel, tricks and deceit.Nothing has changed take a look in our streetsThe mis-education of she and Hegro — leaves you on your knee2growBlack lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorseThey took the gold, the wisdom and all of the storytellersThey took the black women, with the black man weakMade to watch as they changed the paradigmOf our villageThey killed the blind, they killed the lazy, they wentSo far as to kill the unborn babyYeah White nationalism is what put you in bondagePirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and DarwinThey drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them withSteel laden feet, throw in the tricks alcohol and deceit.Nothing has changed take a look at our streets.

Complaints from shocked students and parents led to a tape-recorded apology sent to all parents apologizing for the performance. Autum's father condemned white district officials as "racist crackers." Autum defended her poem by explaining to the Westchester Journal News that white people are "devils and they should be gone. We should be away from them and still be in Africa."

And make note of this: The official who invited Autum to speak, Melvin Bolden, is a public school music teacher, Peekskill councilman, and producer of her first spoken word album.

Who is surprised? If you set aside a separate holiday for Black History Month in the public schools, if you set aside separate graduation ceremonies, college dorms, academic departments, recruiting programs, and government contracts and subcontracts by race, you send a message that hardcore racial separatism is not only acceptable — but desired.

Autum Ashante' is the natural offspring of militant multiculturalism and government-sanctioned identity politics. We reap what we sow.

On her blog, Malkin notes that the fawning of the press over Autumn Ashanti is in stark contrast to how the press treats the little 13 year-old white-power puffs, the Gaede twins:

... here's the experiment. Google "Lamb and Lnyx Gaede," the names of the white nationalist teen singers who have ignited a continuing media firestorm. Now, over the next few days, Google "Autum Ashante."

Will the MSM dare to call Autum and her father's racial hatred what it is? Will pundits and investigative journalistscondemn Autum's spoon-fed racism with the same conviction as they did in response to the white nationalist teen stars?

Or will they make excuses and hide behind "diversity" double standards?

What do you think?

I'm really sick of this crap. These people are racists, plain and simple. Fomenting hatred against an an entire ethnicity is among the greater evils one can do on this Earth The parents of this girl are inculcating her with a satanic anger. They spawn a monster, and our society is feeding it.

Yes, we white people must be pathetic little worms, useless pieces of trash. Hit us, madame, we deserve another.

The Dubai-owned company that promised to surrender its U.S. port operations has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary's interests at Miami's seaport, a senior executive wrote Monday in a private e-mail to business associates.

Even if DP World were to sell its Miami operations to quell the congressional furor over an Arab-owned company managing major U.S. ports, "that would probably take a while," wrote Robert Scavone, a vice president for DP World's U.S. subsidiary....

Last week, DP World backed away from the deal further. It pledged to "transfer fully" its U.S. operations to an unspecified American company and said DP World will not suffer economic loss.

The company has steadfastly declined to clarify its statement or the timing of any possible sale....

Scavone told AP in an interview that his e-mail was intended to reassure officials at the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co. which manages operations there and is half-owned by a DP World subsidiary that uncertainty surrounding the Dubai ports deal would not affect its work in Miami....

Scavone told the AP that under U.S. corporate laws, P&O's ownership in the Miami port company would not change even under DP World's planned divestiture.

"Just because a shareholder owns the top company of an elaborate network of corporations worldwide, it does not mean that what those corporations own changes hands," Scavone said.

And while Scavone may have denied so far that he sent the e-mail, the following should help tell that it's legitimate:

[Scavone] contacted a reporter less than one hour after AP's inquiry to explain the message's meaning. Another P&O executive, Frank Fogarty, said he received Scavone's e-mail and did not doubt Scavone sent it.

This is something that Congress would be advised to pay attention to, since we can't let the UAE trick us or pull the wool over our eyes.

Competence and Winning the War

I have posited that the war against the Qutb brained gintsu wielding salafi zarqouids is neither right nor left, for years. This is so not because of the inherent political leaning of republican, democrats, liberals, conservatives, libertarians, progressives, etc., but because the the Qutb brained gintsu wielding salafi zarqouids (QBGWSZ's) cannot relent by their view of the Quran. They have to keep coming on or they have evaded their individual duty as muslims and are headed for the guy down beneath for some hot coffee.

So, if in 3 years, someone like Russell Feingold is prez, he can stupidly withdraw all he wants, but it won't change a damn thing.

That said let's turn to the war.A good strategy even poorly pursued will beat a bad one perfectly carried out (Sun Tzu, I believe).

The winning strategy IS:

Democracy, and individual rights everywhere in the long run is the best protection for the people of the USA.

It has been poorly carried out. PERIOD. It may have been so poorly carried out that the political will to sustain it is evaporating. Whether or not the facts of a 'civil war' are right or not, and how the MSM represent them is a separate issue.

George Bush in not firing people left and right for the disasters which have stalked his tenure may have institutionalized error. The Moussaoui fiasco of yesterday is prima facie evidence. DPW, is prima facie evidence, Katrina response (not excusing state and local) is prima facie evidence. Why was the 4th ID left sitting in ships before the war when Turkish cooperation was not already secured? Why did the war start before they were positioned? We know now that more men would have been a good thing.

Abe Lincoln went through a raft of people before a bankrupt alchoholic failure, and a crazy press hating redhead saved the Union. Ernest King, the 'personification of of the son of a bitch as Admiral' insisted on visiting responsibility after Pearl Harbor when HE was made responsibile for Navy operations. Genl Vandegrfit on Guadalcanal replaced people right and left until the right combination was there.

Yet we have suffered through appointments like Michael Brown. We have seen Rumsfeld make stupendous errors which would have, in the business world seen him with a pewter mug filled with pencils. We have seen the Harriet Miers debacle. We have seen Tenet, not only NOT ignominiously reduced to a quivering blob of rejected failure, but upheld until it was less 'controversial' for him to quit and write his book. Are we the BRITISH to deal softly with gentleman Johhny Burgoyne? How did that work out? I read in Jawbreaker (an outstanding read..up there with Ghost Wars) that Tommy Franks refused the CIA 800 rangers to land in the mountains and block Tora Bora because they weren't ready yet and casualties might be incurred because of that. WTF? Stupendous error, yet he lead the effort in Iraq. Would that have meant Hookeror Burnside at Gettysburg? Or Husband Kimmel at Midway? Those of you who know history, think about that.

I have been a life long democrat. I not only started off working for George Mcgovern, but then in 2004 wrote published columns explaining why it was impossible to vote for John Kerry. I am looking to help elect the man or woman who has what it takes and I don't care WHAT THE HELL THEY CALL THEMSELVES.

It's time to admit that while Geroge Bush PICKED the right strategy, at THIS point because of the method in his stewardship of the executive, he is NOT the man to carry it out. He can annul this verdict by firing the losers and finding winners. If he hires more losers he ought fire them too. Fearlessy, and mercilessy ..or else it's Johnny Burgoyne. There is no time to waste, George.

DON'T GIVE UP ON IRAQ YET!

Read this excellent article in Real Clear Politics on the MSM's failures in reporting and an "on the street" assessment by Ralph Peters, a retired U.S. Army officer, after his recent visit to Iraq after the Golden Mosque bombing.

Claims of civil war. In the wake of the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, a flurry of sectarian attacks inspired wild media claims of a collapse into civil war. It didn't happen. Driving and walking the streets of Baghdad, I found children playing and, in most neighborhoods, business as usual. Iraq can be deadly, but, more often, it's just dreary.

Iraqi disunity. Factional differences are real, but overblown in the reporting. Few Iraqis support calls for religious violence. After the Samarra bombing, only rogue militias and criminals responded to the demagogues' calls for vengeance. Iraqis refused to play along, staging an unrecognized triumph of passive resistance.

Expanding terrorism. On the contrary, foreign terrorists, such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, have lost ground. They've alienated Iraqis of every stripe. Iraqis regard the foreigners as murderers, wreckers and blasphemers, and they want them gone. The Samarra attack may, indeed, have been a tipping point--against the terrorists.

Hatred of the U.S. military. If anything surprised me in the streets of Baghdad, it was the surge in the popularity of U.S. troops among both Shias and Sunnis. In one slum, amid friendly adult waves, children and teenagers cheered a U.S. Army patrol as we passed. Instead of being viewed as occupiers, we're increasingly seen as impartial and well-intentioned.

The appeal of the religious militias. They're viewed as mafias. Iraqis want them disarmed and disbanded. Just ask the average citizen.

The failure of the Iraqi army. Instead, the past month saw a major milestone in the maturation of Iraq's military. During the mini-crisis that followed the Samarra bombing, the Iraqi army put over 100,000 soldiers into the country's streets. They defused budding confrontations and calmed the situation without killing a single civilian. And Iraqis were proud to have their own army protecting them. The Iraqi army's morale soared as a result of its success.

Reconstruction efforts have failed. Just not true. The American goal was never to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure in its entirety. Iraqis have to do that. Meanwhile, slum-dwellers utterly neglected by Saddam Hussein's regime are getting running water and sewage systems for the first time. The Baathist regime left the country in a desolate state while Saddam built palaces. The squalor has to be seen to be believed. But the hopeless now have hope.

The electricity system is worse than before the war. Untrue again. The condition of the electric grid under the old regime was appalling. Yet, despite insurgent attacks, the newly revamped system produced 5,300 megawatts last summer--a full thousand megawatts more than the peak under Saddam Hussein. Shortages continue because demand soared--newly free Iraqis went on a buying spree, filling their homes with air conditioners, appliances and the new national symbol, the satellite dish. Nonetheless, satellite photos taken during the hours of darkness show Baghdad as bright as Damascus.

Plenty of serious problems remain in Iraq, from bloodthirsty terrorism to the unreliability of the police. Iran and Syria indulge in deadly mischief. The infrastructure lags generations behind the country's needs. Corruption is widespread. Tribal culture is pernicious. Womenâs rights are threatened. And there's no shortage of trouble-making demagogues.

Nonetheless, the real story of the civil-war-that-wasn't is one of the dog that didn't bark. Iraqis resisted the summons to retributive violence. Mundane life prevailed. After a day and a half of squabbling, the political factions returned to the negotiating table. Iraqis increasingly take responsibility for their own security, easing the burden on U.S. forces. And the people of Iraq want peace, not a reign of terror.

Not that we don't still have a long and perilous way to go but we certainly need some encouraging news from that side of the world.

''Speaking of the Holocaust, she said, "The Jews have come from the tragedy and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror; with their work, not with their crying and yelling." She went on, "We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people."

She concluded, "Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."

Hopefully, Atlas will provide a link where we really can donate money. I'll donate for sure.

How Do We Solve A Problem Like Sharia?

I'm sure you have noticed that we have a new Muslim contributor here at IBA. I don't want to speak for him, but it seems to me that Eteraz is a very intelligent and enlightened man who seems to believe that Islam can be reformed.

For a long time, I have been wanting to get a discussion going on the possibility of reforming Sharia. However, I do not feel qualified to handle the discussion by myself, as I know so little, and do not have immense amounts of time to dig the info up myself.

Personally, I believe Sharia can be reformed. As I understand it, there are three ways of approaching Sharia:

1) through the Koran and Hadiths

2) through the interpretations of Muftis and Imams who issue fatwas based on the Koran and Hadith with regards to issues that are not specifically referenced in the Koran (it seems to me that these Fatwas are similar to the arguments of the Jewish Rabbis who created the Talmud out of the arguments about Torah. I say they are similar in that they are interpretive, not because they have reached to the same level of intellectual architecture.)

3) consensus (There is a verse in the Koran where Mohammed says that no decision made by the Ummah can be wrong, because they are his people. This sounds like a big wide-open door to Democratization to me, even if it has not worked in the past.)So, there, now I've thrown my ignorant opinions out there. Now, let the games begin. Eteraz can come and tell me where I am right and where I am wrong, and the lot of you can tell me that you think I am an ignorant Pollyanna, or that you hope I am right, but you doubt it, or whatever.

What is the sharee'ah? The sharee'ah is a code of rules and laws - much like Jewish halakhah - that certain experts have codified and determined. Sharee'ah is basically implementing fiqh (religious juridprudence), which in turn have been fixed into four schools of jurisprudence (singular: madhhab; plural: madhaahib).

Abu Hanifa an-Numan ibn Thabit (699-765 CE) established the Hanafi madhhab, Malik ibn Anas (715-796 CE) established the Maliki madhhab, Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shaafi'ee (767-820 CE) established the Shaafi'ee madhhab, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (780-855 CE) established the Hanbali madhhab.All jurists must follow one of the four imams. Independent reasoning is not permitted: all relevant independent reasoning has already been done by the four imams. The sharee'ah is considered to be a divinely-sanctioned code of laws, and as such are unchangeable and relevant for all people in all places and in all times.

Because of the four schools, there are essentially four different versions of the sharee'ah (five, if one includes Twelver Shiites, whose fiqh is sometimes labelled as the Jaa'fari madhhab after their sixth imam, Jaa'far as-Sadiq). This is not much of a problem as the madhaahib tend to be distributed geographically (meaning certain madhaahib dominate in certain regions of the world), and so each region's experts would belong to the dominant madhhab. (Muslims are forbidden to pick and choose among or between madhaahib: one must choose a madhhab and stick with it for all of one's needs.)

The relevant experts are the judges (singular: qaazi; plural: quzaah) and interpreters (singular: mufti; plural muftoon). Muftis issue fatwahs, which are rulings that act as advice for judges. They are not mandatory. The role of the judge is to apply the law.

However, anyone with half a brain will realize that the laws codified in the eighth and ninth centuries need to be slightly modified for today. This is part of what makes implementing the sharee'ah difficult and impractical.

We will now list other issues will be problematic in implementing the sharee'ah:

1. Which of the four (or five) versions will be used? This is a significant issue in non-Muslim countries, where Muslims from various parts of the world (and, hence, belonging to different madhaahib) may live in the same area.

2. Where will the state get the required judges and muftis? How will the state certify them? How will point 1 above affect the presence and availability of experts?

3. Over whom will the sharee'ah courts have jurisdiction? What if one person of a party wishes to go to a civil court while the other party wishes to go to a sharee'ah court?

4. What about elements that are legal in non-Muslim countries but illegal in the sharee'ah (gambling, alcohol, pork, sexual immorality, pornography, free speech, blasphemy, freedom of religion)? What about elements that are illegal in non-Muslim countries but legal in sharee'ah (oral divorce, male dominance and preference, laws regarding apostates)?

5. What about punishments mandated by the sharee'ah that would be unacceptable by the non-Muslim state (such as the infamous hudood, which mandate what limb is to be amputated for which crime, when a criminal is to be executed, how many lashes is to be given)?

6. Would the sharee'ah include or exclude apostates, non-believers, free-thinkers? Would the sharee'ah be enforced against a person's wishes? What if others (the person's family, relatives, friends) want sharee'ah to be implemented but the person doesn't as he/she no longer recognizes it?

The list can go on and on. Suffice it to say that any call for implementing the sharee'ah is utterly ridiculous and completely impractical. Such calls are simple propaganda and agitation with no goal save to stir up Muslims to more mischief and to intimidate non-Muslims.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Dhimmis and Incest

I hear a lot crap about Dhimmi-Dee, Dhimmi-Dum. Two things bother me. Read this first and I'll get to the incest in a bit.

First, when non-Muslims in the West start referring to themselves as potential Dhimmis. That's as silly as when progressive Muslims accept the title of 'apostate.' It seems that if you want to assert yourself -- whether you are a non-Muslim seeking to assert yourself over Islam, or a progressive Muslim seeking to assert yourself over extremist Muslims -- you should not use the terminology that your opponent would have you wear. When it comes to the battle of ideas, classification is the most important thing. I will never accept a fundo calling me an apostate. Even if that day I'm a practicing atheist. Think of it in terms of a basketball court. Your opponent says to you, "you're my bitch." You wouldn't go around the rest of the game saying to him, "I'm your bitch." Even if you are winning you probably wouldn't say that. I personally wouldn't. If *you* would, then maybe you really want to be a bitch, in which case I can't help you.

Second, there is a wide-spread misunderstanding about what constitutes a Dhimmi. Having been exposed to a lot of Islamic Law, both pre-modern and modern, I can say that there is not too much of agreement about it. Who constitutes a Dhimmi? Only People of the Book? Ok, but is that Jews and Christians only? Or are Hindus allowed in too since they have the Gita? What about Zoroastrians who don't really have a book but are mentioned in the Quran as People of the Book? Where can you impose Dhimmi status? In an Islamic Tyranny where the population has not participated in the laws? Or only in a democracy where the non-Muslims consent to it via a vote? Finally, it's noteworthy that Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran don't have a "Dhimmi" category. Now, it is true, having gone to a Christian school in Pakistan, that non-Muslims are often treated like shit. But that's not the same thing as Dhimmi status. That's a form of bigotry and racism (in Pakistan the Christians are darker skinned), and in Pakistan it is also very closely linked to classism as well b/c Christians tend to be poor. We should note though that the Pakistani cricket team at the current time has a Christian and Hindu. That seems like progress to me. Anyway, to the point about incest.

I recently heard from an Islamic lawyer a very interesting anecdote which tends to reveal quite a bit about the potential flexibility of Islamic Law. A particular Umayyad Caliph consulted the great Mu'tazila (rationalist) thinker Hasan al-Basri, asking him whether he should do something about the practice of certain Zoroastrians who permitted mother and son to get married (here's your incest) if the father passed away prematurely. Hasan al-Basri responded that a Muslim ruler was not allowed to interfere with the customs of another community, even if he was their king, because other communities had different beliefs. This is very instructive. It should teach all the extremist Muslims today that Islamic Law is quite amenable to a flexible reading. Therefore, those Muslims who wish to make an Islamic Empire and then subjugate non-Muslims as Dhimmis are acting contrary to previous versions of Islamic Law. In short, under the standard they themselves wish to follow, they are wrong.

Personally I think the days of organizing a state under the banner of religion are numbered, and for good reason, and therefore, I would agitate towards redefining Islamic Political Theory towards a more 'secular' position. I have outlined some of these ideas in a post on my blog.

The Parallel Government
Of The Entire World

All of us, every single man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth were born with the same unalienable rights; to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, if the governments of the world can't get that through their thick skulls, then, regime change will be necessary.

Infidel Babe Of The Week
Can it be anyone else?

IBA Quote of the Week.

“In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control."

The Infidel Bloggers Alliance Radio Show

Gathering Storm Report Radio Show

"An Islamic regime must be serious in every field," explained Ayatollah Khomeini. "There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humour in Islam. There is no fun in Islam."

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"I want to be very, very clear, however: I understand and agree with the analysis of the problem. There is an imminent threat. It manifested itself on 9/11. It's real and grave. It is as serious a threat as Stalinism and National Socialism were. Let's not pretend it isn't."~~~~~Bono~~~~~